Statement of Teaching Philosophy
In constantly evolving fields of study such as computer science, the standards for mastery necessarily change as rapidly as the state of the art. The fundamental processes and ideas, however, appear again and again in solutions to new problems. Because of this, I believe the study of computer science is a careful balancing act that requires setting the latest developments in the field in the context of the foundations of the discipline. Students are often attracted to the area because of positive personal experiences with the every day physical manifestations of computer science, and this affords a unique opportunity to emphasize the link between the theory and the applied in computing. Such an approach not only reveals the value of understanding the fundamentals so that they may be applied to solve new problems, but I believe it is itself a hallmark of a computer scientist – the ability to switch between the abstract and the concrete. This mindset strongly influences my approach to the specific why and how of computer science education.
As an educator in computer science, I try to link the ever evolving student with the fundamentals of the discipline in a way that encourages exploration beyond the classroom. Why a student is interested in the area (or hopefully soon will be) becomes important not only in recruiting and retaining bright individuals but also in providing exciting and motivating assignments and projects. Students will go far beyond requirements when properly motivated, and I believe such motivation is often tied to students' personal experience. By discovering the foundations of computer science in the things that excited student interest in the field initially, students learn to appreciate the connections between the abstract and the applied. Inspiring students to think like a computer scientist, however, requires constant adaptation to the evolution of the student both generally and individually. Motivation drives so much of what makes a successful education experience, and by motivating students with interesting and personally relevant instances of a problem, new topics are more readily embraced by learners than when projects and assignments are artificial and contrived. More generally, finding what motivates a students requires mentoring and advising students at the personal level whether they are undergraduate or graduate students.
This critical part of the education process requires an attention to students not only individually but as a group as well. In a given class, how can I teach to different styles of how students learn? I believe this requires flexibility and familiarity with current research into education theory. In computer science, I believe a constructivist pedagogy helps students actively learn by building new knowledge. I try to enable students to build ideas with a variety of assignments, discussions, and projects. Because there may be several learning styles (visual, auditory, hands-on, etc), my teaching techniques must be flexible enough to address the styles of as many students as possible. In a given class, I try to augment traditional lectures and out-of-class projects with in-class discussions and assignments that allow students to get their hands dirty while working in groups and with assistance available immediately. In addition, there are also patterns in students as a whole that develop over time that are just as important and require contextual adaptation by the educator.
I realize that the state of the art in education is as dynamic as in computer science, and I am committed to staying at the forefront of the field. I am a firm believer that the curriculum extends beyond the subject matter covered in a text book, and an educator is responsible for exposing students to a broader range of societal issues. Every discipline has the opportunity to integerate diversity and ethics into coursework, for example, and I believe that this is a very important part of preparing students for actively engaging in and being a productive part of society. My role as an educator is to provide a learning environment broad enough to accomodate individual learning styles yet deep enough to provide specific structure and guidance where appropriate. I try to excite and cultivate students' interest in the discipline while exposing them to the fundamentals of computation so that they are prepared for a lifetime of learning and for success beyond academics.